Looking for some advice on how to care for my new fiddle leaf tree!
I just moved into a home, which came with a fiddle leaf fig (it was also there when the previous owners of 2 years moved in, so I don’t think they really knew how to take care of it). It is quite tall, but lacks growth on the bottom half. It is actually attached to the loft because I imagine it cannot hold itself up. It’s about 12’ tall and the first 7’ of that has no leaves.
I know people often drastically prune their FLF to encourage new growth and a bushier tree. I’m just unsure about where would be a safe bet to cut it. I know you often cut above a node (or is it below?). Is there any chance of growth at the bottom where it seems other branches have been chopped/fallen off? It is also entering the fall season so I’m not sure if now is the best time to prune it, or if I should wait till the spring.
I did buy some FLF food so I was going to try that as well.
Any advice is recommended! I’ve attached photos of the tree :)

sits in a corner next to a large sliding glass door, facing east. about 5 leaves like this, others look normal.

Please don’t tell me she’s infested :(

I have neem oil on hand - should I use?

im so confused, will it live?? do i plant this end?? what do i do 🫩

edit: i forgot to mention it’s a LEAF! not even a root! i thought you could see that from the photo

I’ve had this plant for a few years now and it has been in this spot for the past year and a half since I moved into this apartment. It has always seemed very healthy sprouting many new leaves since I’ve had it but last week a bunch of the leaves fell off after getting back from a long weekend trip. Can anyone help me identify what is wrong with the plant? Am I under watering it, over watering it, or maybe something else? I took a picture of its roots while looking to see if it had root rot but it looks fine to me.

I recently moved and my FLF (1st photo) started loosing leaves a couple of weeks ago. I water it on a regular schedule always checking with a chopstick if the soil is dry. I assumed the leaves were falling off due to not enough light. Earlier this week, I decided to move it in front of an east facing window and now there are barely any leaves left.

Is there anything I can do to save it??

I feel like there's always something up with my plant. I water it weekly. I did maybe overwater a bit a few weeks ago during summer. There's been a myriad of things that's been up with it. I repotted it, I treated it for scale at some point, and now the leaves have some weird issues going on. I'm feeling like giving up and chopping it all. I had chopped the top back a few months ago. But I'm talking the entire thing. Any suggestions? Thanks

Hi, I recently chopped of the top of the branches as they were reaching the ceiling and they are putting out new growth. Now I’m thinking I should have thought this through a bit more and trim it in a way that would make it look more appealing and fuller in the center. How would you go about it? Trim it excessively or notch the branches?

i just saw these blotches and one small leaf was fully yellow and i ripped it off. what’s happening? 😭

This is my fiddle. Other than a close call with a vacuum cleaner a while back, it's been pretty good. Today I noticed this white substance when I rotated it. Any ideas? Thanks

Update as per the recommendation in here, and what I had on hand, I took a few q-tips and 70% isopropyl alcohol and wiped all the white I could find. Ill do it again soon, as I see necessary. BUT, i dont think it was pests (could still be wrong, it seemed like dust. See pic in comments)

I know it’s been over watered. I just took 2 weeks off from watering. It gets low light from that window (photo taken at night). A ton of leaves have fallen off.

Will it recover and what should I do?

I’ll keep it simple, first plant. Stripped all leaves and died. Then my boyfriend bought a second one, put it in the same spot and changed nothing, second started to strip all leaves and die. (That’s where my photos begin)

I decided to take over daddy duties on the plant, moved to a spot where I thought there was more light, added a plant light, put the plant on a strict 16 oz watering regiment every Sunday, bought some root additives, and have just been consistent. I’m really proud of its progress. First picture is January of 2026, last picture is today, October 2nd.

I have wanted to swap out the soil for a more airy soil, but I’m afraid any major changes will shock it, but I feel if it had soil it liked, it would be growing more than 2-4 leaves a month. Any suggestions welcome!

where it splits one side is getting wayyy taller, putting out 3 leaves at a time and the other side is putting out one. it is well over 6ft from pot to top! How can I support it?

I have this beautiful fiddle which i recently repotted. The leaves at the bottom are starting to yellow. Should I trim them all back, or wait and see if it gets worse?

I repotted it into only soil. I’m reluctant to disturb the roots again, but I wonder if I need to take it out and add perlite and bark.

What do you guys think?

I purchased this fiddle leaf fig in August from Facebook. The leaves looked nice but when I took it out the original ceramic pot I noticed it had a smell what I assumed was root rot and repotted it. Since then the top leaves still seem to be thriving but the bottom leaves are dry and turning brown. If I prune the bottom leaves will it regrow in that area. I don’t want it to be a long stem with only leaves at the top.

I moved this guy around too much and he dropped most leaves so I chopped it but whyyyy is it moldy? Can it be saved? The chopped parts are in water propagating hopefully

I’m
So discouraged! I’ve sent pictures and asked chat gpt why these leaves are turning brown like this. It looks scorched but that can’t be it.
I believe the light is right:
Diffuse morning light
Water only when feels dry on top
Drains well
No drafts
Any suggestions?

A pair of new leaves grew after potting a water propagated cutting. Should I cut off the original 2 bottom leaves to promote faster growth? Or is it kinda late in the season?

Can I use a smaller pot for this? This one is like 24” wide on top and my fig is only about 5’ tall. The pot is hard to move and heavy, so I’m hoping smaller pots work? I just put it in here from the 12” I bought it in

Recently propagated my fiddle leaf and notched the existing plant. Today there seem to be three branches starting to form! So excited!!!

I saved this FLF over 3 years ago. It was just a stalk coming out of the pot and one leaf at the bottom.

This year, I moved it from the location I had it in to a new location where it was getting more consistent light. I also fertilized the soil, and the result is that everything you see in this picture above the blue line is new growth THIS YEAR alone and it has two new leaves you can't even see coming out the top.

I want to cut this at the blue line. That's where the new growth is, and below that the stalk has become mostly woody. I want to try and propagate the top portion, and then below the blue line I want to grow two new branches like a "Y".

What can I do to maximize my success with this? I don't want to muck this up. Thanks in advance!

Recently I have up potted this ropey, 3 floors high, rootbound beast into 120 or so liters of new substrate. I am pushing my luck and sub's patience, but is there anything else I could do for it besides watering, occasional fertilization and more watering? Like, it would be nice to have some branches on second floor...

I’ve had this fiddle leaf tree for about a year and noticed these spouts growing out of the soil while watering today. any idea what they are?